A few upsets this week – the YRMbombers stormed through their match, while the entire Mantle Division lost their matches. Every home team won, leaving the new standings by division at:
Ruth (15-8)
Mantle (12-11)
DiMaggio (8-16)
Results
Bad News Bears lost to West Haven Yankees by 260 – 367 points
Saxmania’s Swingers lost to Lords of Flatbush by 246 - 293 points
FP Balloon Knots lost to YankeesRule2002 by 251 – 274 points
Babe’s Piano Playaz lost to Cunning Linguists by 200 – 213 points
Bambino’s Ghost lost to YRMbombers2002 by 219 - 383 points
Buckeye Bombers lost to German Gold Gloves by 221 - 224 points
Michigan Wolverines lost to Junior’s Bashers by 315 - 362 points
Standings
Ruth Division
West Haven Yankees (5-0; 1676 points)
Lords of Flatbush (3-1; 1101 points)
YankeesRule2002 (3-1; 1032 points)
Cunning Linguists (3-2; 1087 points)
YRMbombers2002 (1-4; 1236 points)
DiMaggio Division
Michigan Wolverines (3-2; 1547 points)
Junior's Bashers (2-3; 1422 points)
Italian Ice (1-3; 880 points)
German Gold Gloves (1-4; 1259 points)
Buckeye Bombers (1-4; 1119 points)
Mantle Division
Bambino's Ghost (4-1; 1337 points)
Saxmania's Swingers (3-2; 1339 points)
Bad News Bears (2-2; 1028 points)
Babe's Piano Playaz (2-2; 1000 points)
FP Balloon Knots (1-4; 1311 points)
Weekly Awards
Team of the Week – YRMbombers2002
Luckiest Team of the Week – Cunning Linguists (won with 213 points)
Unluckiest Team of the Week – Michigan Wolverines (lost with 315 points)
Matchup of the Week – Buckeye Combers vs. German Gold Gloves (3 points’ difference in the result)
League Leaders
Runs scored – Michigan Wolverines (163)
Homeruns – Saxmania’s Swingers/Babe’s Piano Playaz (46)
Stolen Bases – Bambino’s Ghost (31)
Walks – Babe’s Piano Playaz (152)
Wins – West Haven Yankees (21)
Saves – Bambino’s Ghost (25)
Strikeouts – Michigan Wolverines (208)
Earned Runs* – German Gold Gloves (57)
*lowest in league
Match Reports
West Haven continue dominance over returning Bears
A power outburst from Montreal slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who homered 5 times during the week, guaranteed the Yankees’ position as the only unbeaten team in the league – a distinction that now belongs solely to them. The rotation continued to grab excellent results, with 4 wins and 3 saves, plus a complete game from Jeff Suppan, lifting West Haven over the 350 mark once more. However, the team were unable to grab the weekly point-scoring crown this week. Next week sees the Yankees taking on the second-place Lords of Flatbush in a division showdown that could foreshadow a pennant race in later weeks.
The Bears, fresh from their bye week, were unable to overcome a disappointing outing from Roy Halladay, although 5 HRs from Adam Dunn and 3 for Jeff Bagwell pointed to a line-up that could threaten many opposing teams. A weak-hitting infield was arguably the Achilles’ heel for the Bears, and they will hope to improve over the .500 mark against the Buckeye Bombers starting today.
Schilling and Astacio winners, Swingers losers
The Lords continued their improved run from last week, finding four wins from two starters this week to overwhelm the Swingers. The Arizona right-hander struck out 27 opposing batters, countering the seven earned runs allowed, and the rest of the staff was equally impressive, with four additional wins and three saves from the rest of the pitchers. The line-up offered little run support, but then, it didn’t really need to. The Flatbushers are establishing themselves as a pennant contender, and their showdown with the division leaders could prove an early indicator to future success.
The Swingers, despite a complete game from impressive knuckler Steve Sparks, never got started, with their best homerun hitter languishing on the bench in the form of Steve Finley. Barry Zito’s disastrous 1st inning underlined the failure of their staff to match the Lords, and the team’s power appears to be unpredictable. Next week sees the overseas matchup, as the Swingers meet the Gold Gloves.
Knots can’t find way past recovering Rulers
After a surprisingly poor Week 4, the Rulers bounced back to condemn the unlucky Knots to a fourth defeat. 10 RBIs from Corey Koskie was enough run support for Buehlre, Penny, and Radke to each rack up a win, although Buehlre and Radke weren’t exactly overpowering. Rob Nen shut the door, compiling 3 saves in 4 innings of work.
The Knots, despite a team average of over 250, can’t seem to find a weak opponent, and Todd Helton’s 11 RBIs and Eddie Guardado’s 3 saves were all for naught. Only 1 win from the pitching rotation demonstrated that shutting the door after the game is lost won’t win you many matches. The improving Junior’s Bashers will be the next target for the Knots.
Linguists edge slumping Playaz in low-scoring duel
Despite a low placement in the overall points totals, the Linguists are picking up wins, and have now improved over the .500 mark. Only Jose Rijo disappointed in the rotation, and Geronimo Gil looks a useful contributor to the line-up. Once the pitching staff is healthy, the Linguists could surprise a few more teams. Next week, the Rulers will have to be on their guard.
The Playaz improved only marginally on their Week 4 showing, hitting the 200 mark. The top of the rotation found wins, but Brett Tomko’s outing hurt more than it helped, and the wretched outing for Bobby Abreu damaged the line-up, with Barry Bonds and Carlos Delgado seeing nothing to hit – they totalled 14 walks between them.
YRMbombers on tear, demolish Ghosts
The Bambino ran into a sudden surge from the improving YRMbombers, who posted the highest points total this week in a dramatic reversal of fortunes. Strong outings from the rotation, with complete games from Burba and Vasquez (the latter a shutout) and 2 wins from Kirk Reuter pushed the Bombers towards 400 points. Jeromy Burnitz’s hitting display didn’t hurt, either. The Bombers have now found their first win, and will look to prove that it’s no fluke when they return from their upcoming bye week.
Just 4 HRs and 1 triple let the Ghosts down, although feeling as if they had run into a brick wall might also have been a factor. Jon Lieber pitched a complete game but couldn’t get a win, and almost no run support was available to protect the rotation. The Ghosts still lead their division, but lose their perfect record, and will have a difficult match against the Wolverines next week in which to make amends.
Gloves rob Bombers in close one to get first win
The Germans busted out the whupping stick, with 4 HRs each from Cliff Floyd and Tony Batista powering them to 13 HRs and the team’s first ‘W’. 3 saves from Byung-Hung Kim and 10 innings of scoreless relief was enough to edge the Gloves over the Bombers, with just 11 runs allowed by the entire pitching staff. The Gloves will look to build on this next week against the Swingers.
Mike Cameron’s heroics notwithstanding, the Buckeyes are in search of power, with corresponding shortages of walks and RBIs. Still, Aaron Sele’s two wins and Tim Hudson’s gem was nearly enough to lift them over the Gloves, and the Buckeyes will be determined to rise above fifth position in their division. The Bad News Bears will stand in their way, starting today.
Wolverines run into Bashers’ bombardment
The Wolverines are hitting some excellent opponents, this being the second time them have scored over 300 but still lost. The Bashers were the victors this week, with gems from Freddy Garcia and Scott Erickson, plus a complete game from Bartolo Colon. Despite new recruit Paul Byrd’s 9 ER, Sammy Sosa’s power boosted the Bashers over 300 for the second time this year. Finding out if they can do it again will be the Balloon Knots.
Matt Morris pitched well for Michigan twice, but neither time was rewarded with a win, hurting the Wolverines’ score. Andruw Jones is also forming a minor hole in the line-up, with just 1 RBI, and 6 GIDPs didn’t help either. The Wolverines are still posting consistent results, but they’re not the only ones right now, and the Ghosts will look to drive that point home next week.
Fixtures
Week 5 May 5th:
German Gold Gloves v Saxmania’s Swingers
Junior’s Bashers v FP Balloon Knots
Italian Ice v Babe’s Piano Playaz
Michigan Wolverines v Bambino’s Ghost
Buckeye Bombers v Bad News Bears
Lords of Flatbush v West Haven Yankees
Cunning Linguists v YankeesRule2002
Notes
The attached Word file will have to come later, as I’m off boozing this weekend. Cubs at Dodgers? Will we ever get off the West Coast?
Good week, by the way – some of the division races look interesting, and special congratulations to YRM for, frankly, ripping the rest of the league apart after a shaky start.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania
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How the hell did I manage to win three games with this MASH unit?
Originally Posted by JDPNYY
